Thread: Frequency of honing?

How long is a piece of string? Initially anything from a few weeks to months and months. Once you are proficient it could be a long time, esp if you are using pastes/sprays to maintain the edge. I have been using a razor for 3 or more months now 2 weeks out of 3 and occasionally touching it up with a pasted strop and it is still going well. I think a few passes on a finisher wouldn't go amiss soon but probably isn't necessary.
I have read about experienced users keeping a razor good for 6 months or a year with pastes etc.

Probably one of the most asked questions on SRP

That and "What is the best __________" (insert product)


Unfortunately we can only give answers based on our experiences and not yours

But I can tell you whatever the amount of time is right now today for you is, it will be way longer next year at this time

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Unfortunately we can only give answers based on our experiences and not yours

And in your experience? Time between your very first SR shave and when you needed to hone? I understand everyone is different and I'm not looking for an exact answer. More like 1-3, 3-6 or more in first year.

RedGladiator,

As the other posters have said, the question is almost impossible to answer.

Your chops are the only guide you need as to when you touch-up or hone a razor.

For me, with my C135 TIs, I touch up on CrOx every seven shaves. Every twenty-eight shaves, it gets a refresh on a 12k Naniwa SuperStone.

Once a year, I will reset the bevel and re-hone up.

Do I need to do the maintenance that often ? Probably not

However, I beleive in the little and often approach to manitenance, and I like honing

For me (again), I have found my C135 TIs keep their edge longer than many of my other razors.

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

I originally thought my razors needed to be honed often - then I got better at stropping. I have one razor going on 6 months and still strong. I'm betting I could make it go at least 8 if not more, and that's almost daily shaving on a tough beard.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

How long is a piece of string? Initially anything from a few weeks to months and months. Once you are proficient it could be a long time, esp if you are using pastes/sprays to maintain the edge.

I'm a beginner with zero stropping experience. Honing services cost £30-35 or $45 in UK, a brand new shave ready dovo costs £80. While I plan on honing myself in a few years if I'm going to hone more than 6 times a year I will just buy the hones and try to learn how to now.

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

I'm a beginner with zero stropping experience. Honing services cost £30-35 or $45 in UK, a brand new shave ready dovo costs £80. While I plan on honing myself in a few years if I'm going to hone more than 6 times a year I will just buy the hones and try to learn how to now.

I sent my first razor back after a month, but mainly for feedback on my edge care, i was told that I had done no harm.
I would expect to refresh a razor used daily after 2-3 months. Though using a pasted strop as a regular maintenance tool that should be longer.

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

I'm a beginner with zero stropping experience. Honing services cost £30-35 or $45 in UK, a brand new shave ready dovo costs £80. While I plan on honing myself in a few years if I'm going to hone more than 6 times a year I will just buy the hones and try to learn how to now.

Unfortunately, learning straight razor shaving is all backwards. In the beginning, when your maintenance skills are the worst, you need those skills the most. After your shaving technique improves, your now improved maintenance skills are needed much less.

Assuming that your stropping skills are good and the fact that your planning to refresh with paste when needed, my optimistic guess would be 2 to 4 re hones in the first year. A second razor is a really good thing to have and that would cut out one of the re hones assuming it came 'really shave ready'.

My advice would be to put off buying stones at least until after your first professional re hone. By the time you need your second re hone you will have a better feel for how often you're going to need it and your shaving and stropping skills will have improved dramatically.

At the start most peoples skill set is at a low level. Poor shaving technique, a misstep stropping and possibly dinging the edge on the tap or dropping a razor are all more likely than later on. So, like everyone else has said more at the start less later on. I think bluesman7's estimate of 2-4 rehones in the first year might be pretty close.

If you dive right in to honing at the start on top of learning to shave and maintain a straight razor with stropping you are in for a can of worms. I pretty much did that and it wasn't pretty for the longest while. Nothing associated with shaving with a straight razor is as simple or easy as it looks at first glance. It is also not as cheap as it looks at first glance either.

How you proceed is up to you.

Bob

The amount of time and edge will last, is totally dependent on your stropping ability, as Glenn said the time will increase as your ability improves.

It is not unusual for an edge to last a month or two for a novice. It is improper stropping that damage the edge, not regular use.

Stropping is very under rated skill. A properly stropped razor will shave for up to a year, with a pasted strop, indefinitely.
The most common problem novice stroppers have is too much pressure, an edge can be damaged with a single stroke.